Rod-feeding device for turning-lathes



(No Model.) 4

- l C.. M: GONRADSON.

ROD FB-BDING DEVICE POR TURNING LATHBS.

10.497,631; .Patented May 16,1893.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CONRAD M. OONRADSON, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN.

ROD-FEEDING DEVICE FOR TURNING-LATHES.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 497,631, dated May 16,1893.

Application led November 28, 1892. Serial No. 453,421. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, CONRAD M. CONRADSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Madison, in the county of Dane and State of Wiscousin, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rod-Feeding Devices, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rod or stock-feeding devices for screw machinesor similarmachinos employingA a hollow arbor, and consists in a novelconstruction of the same, as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings,-Figure lis a side elevation, partly in section; Fig. 2,a horizontal sectional view on the line xof Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a viewillustrating a `slight modilica tion. j

A indicates a portion of the main frame, and B B nprights or standardsthereon, carrying the hollow arbor C. The hollow arbor has at its innerend a conical collar D against which the inclined faces of the slidingjaws E act.

F indicates atube or sleeve mounted within the hollow arbor and arrangedto move the jaws along the inclined faces of the collar, and

cause them to grasp or bite the stock Z. This tube or sleeve is providedwith a circumferential groove a to receive the inner arms or ends c ofthe elbow levers G, which latter are pivoted in the hollow arbor, asshown in Fig. l; the said arbor being slotted as at b to allow the innerends of the levers to project inward to engage the sleeve. Theelbowlevers G,-of which there are preferably two,-have their tails dextending in the direction of the feed, and are designed to bear upon acollar H encircling the hollow arbor. This collar H is groovedcircumferentially as at e to receive the studs f of the hand lever Iwhich latter is pivoted in an arm or bracket J of the frame of themachine. When the lever I is moved so as to carry the collar` H beneaththe vtails of the levers G, the latter will be rocked or tipped upontheir pivots and move the tube or sleeve F forward. 'lhis movement ofthe sleeve causes the jaws E to ride along the intails of the levers G;and as the tails d are.

heavier than the arms c, the levers will be rocked, and, through theirarms c, move the tube F backward and release the jaws.

In order to properly gage or determine the feed of the rod or stock,lemployaweighted arm K which is pivoted at a point between its ends toone of the uprights, the inner end of said arm being provided with anadjustable stop or bar g. At or near its pivotal point the arm or leverK is provided with an inclined heel h which is designed to be acted uponbythe sliding collar H. Now when the collar moves in such direction asto release the chuck jaws, it will strike the heel of the lever, rockthe same upon its pivot, and bring the stop g into line with theprojecting end of the stock (as shown in dotted lines) so that thelatter cannot be fed any farther through the arbor than is permitted bythe stop against which the stock will strike. If the collar H be movedin the opposite direction to cause the jaws to grasp the stock, theweight on the arm or lever K will throw the stop or bar g up out of linewith arbor as shown in Fig. 1. From this it will be seen that the gageor stop is brought Iautomatically into position when- Y engage a wormwheel N, as shown in Fig. l.

This worm wheel is keyed to a shaft'O journaled in blocks or bearingsP,-the said blocks P being supported on rods or barsQ, secured at oneend to the main frame and supported at other points by feet R. Any-other suitable supporting frame may be substituted for that shown. j l.Y

Mounted upon the shaft O, between two collars S S, is a sprocket wheelT, which isidesigned to be held normally in engagement with the collars,by means of a coiled spring 1l, but which when meeting with apredetermined resistance will remain at rest while the shaft continuesto rotate. The collar next to the worm wheel is secured to the shaft bya pin, while the other is keyed to the shaft so' that while it turns orrotates with the shaft,

it may also move toward and from the face of the splocket a limiteddistance. By varying the force or action of the spring, the point atwhich the sprocket will begin to slip or turn independently of the shaftand its collars, may be accurately regulated. A second sprocketj ismounted upon the supporting frame, in line with wheel T, and about thesetwo sprockets a chain k passesf-the said sprocket wheels being separateda distance from each other, preferably equal to the length of the stockor rod to be fed through the arbor.

U indicates a traveling rod carriage or holder which in the presentinstance is shown as comprising a block Z adapted to move lengthwiseupon the rods Q or other suitable supports, and having atits upper end arotatable th-imblem and rod-clampin g screws a.

i The holder or carriage U is provided with a latch or hook owhich isdesigned to engage the chain la, so that when motion is imparted to thechain, the holder or carriage will also be caused to travel in the samedirection.

The operation of this rod feeding mechanism is as follows: The hollowarbor is rofated, and, through the worm gearing, this motion is impartedto the shaft O. The spring t pressing upon the outer collar S holds thelatter in contact with the sprocket T and causes the latter to turn withthe shaft O. Motion thusimparted to the sprocket is transmitted throughthe chain 7c and latch o to the holder or carriage U in which the rearor outer end of the stock is clamped. The carriage being thus fed towardthe chuck or main frame, feeds the rod or stock through the hollow arboruntil the front end of the stock strikes against a gage or stop andprevents any further feed of the stock. Although the feed of the stockis stopped, the arbor, the worm wheel, and the shaft O, continue to turnor rotate, while the sprocket T remains at rest; the resistance offeredto further feed of the stock exceeding the friction exerted by thespring t'. As soon, however, as the rod is ready to be fed forwardanother predetermined distance, it is only necessary to release the holdof the chuck jaws on the stock, whereupon (the resistance to the feed ofthe stock being removed) the friction produced by the spring t' will atonce cause the sprocket to turn with the rotating shaft, and, actingthrough the chain, again feed the carriage U forward the predetermineddistance. This step-by-step feed of the rod is repeated until the rod orstock has been mostly consumed. The latch o is then raised up outofengagement with the chain, and the carriage` U moved back to the outerwheel j by hand, preparatory to feeding a new rod or stock, and its hookor latch o engaged again with the chain. So far as the operation of thisrod feeding mechanism is concerned,it is obvious that the special gageor stop K which I have herein shown and described, is not essential; anymeans which shall oi'er sufcient resistance to the feed of the stockbeing all that is required. For instance, the chuck jaws may themselvesperform thisfunction.

In the construction shown in Fig. 3, I dispense with the worin gearing,chain, and sprockets, and employ a screw-shaft p which is journaled andturns freely in the frame P. The carriage or holder is provided with athreaded block or nut q which, fitting in a socket in the holder,engages the screw shaft and causes` a travel of the carriage as theshaft rotates. By withdrawing this nut or block q, the carriage can bemoved back to startingposition. Under this arrangement the arbor isprovided with teeth r to engage a pinion s mounted upon the end of thescrew,-the said pinion being clamped between two collars t '5 by meansof a coiled spring u. This mechanism operates in substantially the samemanner as that illustrated in Fig. 1, andhardly seems to require furtherexplanation.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In combinationwith an arbor and a rodgripping or chucking device carried thereby, agage or stop to determine the length of the feed of the rod, and meansoperatively connecting the gage with the gripping or chuck- `ingmechanism; whereby when the chuck is actuated the gage will be broughtautomatically into or out of operative position.

2. In combination with an arbor andV rodgripping devices carriedthereby; the pivoted lever K provided with a stop or gage g and a heelh; and the collar I-I, adapted to actuate the lever K and therod-gripping devices.

3. In combination with a rotatable hollow arbor; a rod-supporting devicein which the rod is clamped and which is movable toward the outer end ofthe arbor to feed the rod therethrough; and the intermediate connectionsbetween the arborand said rod-supporting device, whereby the arbor isadapted to impart to the rod a step-by-step travel or feed,substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with a hollow arbor; a rod-holder movable toward theouter end ofthe latter to feed the material therethrough; means forresisting the feed of the rod; and gearing substantially such as shownand described for causinga travel of the rod-holder when the resistanceto the feed of the rod has been removed or falls below apredeterminedamount.

5. In combination with a hollow arbor; a rod holder to feed the rodtherethrough; mechanism for causing travel of the rodhold er; and meansfor producing a resistance to the feed of the rod and throwing theholderactuating mechanism out of action.

6. In combination with a hollow arbor and a traveling rod-holder; ayielding feed mechanism for said holder; and means for producingsufficient resistance to the feed of the rod to overcome the action ofholder-feed mechanism, all substantially as shown and described.

7 In combination with a hollow arbor and IOO IIO

9. In combination with the rotatable hollow arbor having Worm M; a shaftO p provided I5 lwith the worm wheel N and sprocket T; a

chainl k actuated from the sprocket; a slip connection between thesprocket and its shaft; and a rod-holder U adapted to be connected withthe chain. l

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses. t

' CONRAD lVL-CONRADSON. Witnesses: v

W. A. BAGLEY, C. H. ALLYN.

